The fifty-ninth Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is now open at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
On loan from the Natural History Museum in London, the world-renowned exhibition features exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world. Using photography's unique emotive power to engage and inspire audiences, the images shine a light on stories and species around the world and encourage a future of advocating for the planet.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases some of the best photography talent from around the world for nearly 60 years. The competition opens for entries every October and closes in December. This year’s competition attracted an astounding 49,957 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 95 countries. Aberdeen Art Gallery is part of a major tour which will see the award-winning images enjoyed by well over a million people worldwide.
The exhibition also includes a sound installation by Andrej Bako which draws from his practice of documenting the natural world through field recordings. The 38-minute composition engages with the relationship between water and the diverse environments that support life on earth.
Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum says, “We are facing urgent biodiversity and climate crises, and photography is a powerful catalyst for change. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition reveals some of nature’s most wondrous sights whilst offering hope and achievable actions visitors can take to help protect the natural world.”
Coral Connections by Alex Mustard, (UK) Highly Commended - Under Water, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Entries were judged anonymously on their creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts chaired by Kathy Moran, who says: “What most impressed the jury was the range of subjects, from absolute beauty, rarely seen behaviors and species to images that are stark reminders of what we are doing to the natural world. We felt a powerful tension between wonder and woe that we believe came together to create a thought-provoking collection of photographs.”
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson, says: “We are excited to have opened the popular Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Art Gallery. The range of images on show is simply stunning, covering many themes including animal behaviour, photojournalism, under water, as well as plants and fungi.
"The works by young photographers ranging from ages 10 and under to 17 are particularly impressive. Our main marketing image, The Catwalk by Shashwat Harish from Kenya, was highly commended in the 11-14 years category. Not only is it a powerful image showing a moment of eye contact and the curl of a leopard’s tail, we loved the connection with Aberdeen - the leopard being a heraldic symbol that has been part of the city’s identity for centuries.
"We look forward to welcoming photography enthusiasts and wildlife lovers of all ages to the exhibition over coming months.”
Mason Bee at Work by Solvin Zankel, (Germany) Highly Commended – Invertebrates: Behaviour, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Exhibition information:
Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FQ. Admission to the building is free, there is a charge for admission to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. .
Dates and times:
July 6 to October 27 2024.
Open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-4pm.
Prices: Adults £8 / concessions £5 / Exhibition pass £10 / Children 16 and under free
To book tickets: www.aagm.co.uk
Talk: Saturday, September 28, 2pm
Tickets £8 / £5 - to book go to www.aagm.co.uk
Orkney-based wildlife photographer and cameraman Raymond Besant discusses his varied career, including filming a wide range of programmes as a long-lens wildlife cameraman for the BBC Natural History Unit and BBC Scotland.